British Breeds Revival Trust Project Breed – the Original Population Ayrshire
The Ayrshire cattle breed originated in the county of Ayr in Scotland in the latter half of the nineteenth century. This hardy breed may have been created by careful breeding using non-local breeds mated with cattle that were local to the area where the Ayrshire dairy breed was started. The precise cattle breeds used to generate Ayrshires are not known, but it is hypothesised that strains of other European or Channel Island breeds such as the Froment Du Leon were mated with cattle native to this geographic region to create Ayrshire dairy cattle. The newly formed breed of cattle was first known as Cunninghams, then Dunlops, and finally, the Ayrshire name was adopted with the first Ayrshire Cattle Society herd register being published in 1877.
It took several years for the Ayrshire characteristics to be well-defined enough to be considered a different and distinct breed, but that happened with the first Ayrshire show, sponsored by the Highland Agricultural Society, in 1786. Early Ayrshire cattle flourished in the Scottish landscape because they were very efficient grazers, were well-adapted to the climate and terrain because of the cross with native cattle species, and were known for the quality of their udders.
Ayrshire cattle are noted for their red and white colour pattern. The red may range from a very dark, almost black mahogany to a very light brownish-red. The cattle could be almost a solid red or white with the complementary colour spotted across their hide or they may have more of a broken mix of red and white. Purebred Ayrshire cattle are usually of red and white colouration but some old herds were black and white in colour and these herds were in existence in the UK prior to black and white Dutch Friesians arriving in Britain. One historic feature of the breed was their long, upward sweeping elegant horns. When allowed to grow, the horns are light coloured with dark tips and can be over a foot in length.
This breed is considered a medium-bodied dairy animal, reaching up to 1,200 pounds (550Kg) in weight at maturity. Ayrshire cattle are highly adaptable to different management systems, have excellent udder conformation and are generally free from most foot and leg problems. Additionally, calves are known for their vigour and easy rearing.
This Scottish breed was exported to the U.S.A in 1822 when they were transported to Connecticut. The climate and terrain in this north-eastern state are similar to that of Scotland and Ayrshire cattle do very well in this environment. Registered Ayrshire cattle are still found in many New England states, – albeit in declining numbers – including New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. The Ayrshire breed has spread throughout the entire USA and also has strong numbers in many Midwest states including Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, and Illinois.
The Original Population Ayrshire (free of global genetics or Holsteinisation) has been declining in numbers for many years and this situation has not been helped by crossbreeding or introgression that has been steadily eroding the pure breed since the late 1960s. The decline and the threat posed by introgression (Holsteinisation, especially), has long been raised with various conservation organisations in attempts to safeguard this seriously endangered rare breed, but the decline in purebred Ayrshire cattle has continued.
In 2012 plans were being discussed with a view to Watchlisting the breed and offering support and help with revival breeding programmes. Unfortunately, this embryonic plan to recognise, watchlist and safeguard the OP Ayrshire did not come to fruition. The Ayrshire would almost certainly have been Watchlisted as a breed population that was recognised as being critically endangered with its existence as a pure breed being threatened.
Throughout the years since 2012, numbers of remaining purebred cattle within this iconic native breed have continued to fall. To this present day (February 2022) the OP Ayrshire breed remains absent from recognition as a seriously endangered breed from the lists of any conservation trust other than the BBRT.
It is readily apparent from work that has already been done by both the RBST Cattle Working Group and more recently by the British Breeds Revival Trust that numbers of OP 100% pure Ayrshire cattle are desperately low with only a handful of 100% pure animals surviving.
Positive attributes associated with the OP Ayrshire:
On the positive side, an adequate but as yet not fully quantifiable number of high percentage Ayrshire OP cattle are remaining in herds maintained by key breeders who are working to revive the few purebred OP Ayrshire 100 per cent animals remaining. Stocks of frozen OP bull semen are adequate with a good range of bulls to offer diversity. As of January 2022, at least two 100% pure OP Ayrshire bulls have been reared for semen collection.
The productivity and conformation of the remaining pure and high percentage pure females is outstanding with 8000 kilos of milk being produced per 305 days lactation on low concentrate “milk from grass” management systems.
The OP Ayrshire is hardy, capable of productive milking for 8 – 10 lactations or more. The pure breed OP Ayrshire is suitable for upland areas and blessed with exceptional ability to produce milk from sustainable regenerative farming systems without the need for much by way of supplementary bought-in feed.
